Snapshots: Evans

This is a continuation of “Being a Friend to Kenya”, written by Jordan Bush, featured in the November 2012 issue of the Fine Living Lancaster magazine. View in the PDF version of the issue here.  You can find the article on page 142.

Fifteen years ago, Evans was living as a paternal orphan with his mother and younger brother Wycliff.

Evans’ mother became ill in bed and hadn’t been seen for a week, so her brother came to check on her. When he asked Evans where his mother had gone, Evans told his uncle she was sick in bed, feeding the 18-month-old baby Wycliff. Evans’ uncle found his sister passed away in her own bed, where she had been for some time with her baby still attached to her breast.

Evans has mental retardation from malnutrition as a young boy, but despite his obstacles he is expected to graduate from vocational college for carpentry at the end of 2012.

He is one of Rafiki’s earliest and greatest successes at LightHouse Academy due to his accomplishments from first grade all the way through college. Rafiki also provided him with his own hut and helped raise him from about 5 years old into adulthood. Rafiki is presently working to build Evans a new hut after he graduates. Evans has faithful sponsors from Lancaster that provided the means of sending him to vocational school to master a trade to support himself as a adult.